Arthur Schopenhauer was the son of a merchant from Danzig. His
mother Johanna was friendly with Goethe and became an author
herself. She roused literary interests in him. Since the family
often travelled in Europe, he learned to appreciate French and
English culture.

According to his father's wishes he
set out for a commercial career. His father died in 1805 (probably
suicide). The family moved to Weimar and after a while his mother
conceeded to his wishes to enter the University of Göttingen
(1809). Arthur and his mother didn't get on well and their relations
were strained during the rest of their lives. Furthermore, he
didn't like her spending his father's money and her seeing other
men. This was probably a major cause for his dim view of women.
He considered them childish and thought they had no genius (his
mother had become a popular writer by then).

In 1811
he continued his studies at the new University of Berlin. He
considered his understanding of philosophy far better than that
of his teachers. In 1813 he became a doctor at the University
of Jena. He returned to Weimar where he spend four years writing
his main work, "Die Welt Als Wille Und Vorstellung" ("The World
as Will and Idea"). It was published in December 1818 and went
largely unnoticed. Schopenhauer was a pessimist who believed
that people had no individual will but were part of a universal
will that caused universal suffering.

He took a vacation
in Italy, carrying a letter of introduction to Lord Byron that
Goethe had given him. But when he saw how delighted his female
companion was when they saw Byron on horseback in Venice he
decided not to meet him.

After his return to Germany
he accepted a teaching post at the University of Berlin. There
he scheduled his class at the same time as Hegel's in 1820.
Hegel had inherited Fichte's chair and his lectures were very
popular. Hardly any students attended Schopenhauer's class.
He quit and would never return to teaching.

In 1831
he settled in Frankfurt am Main. When he received a price from
the Danish Academy in 1838 he expected that interest in his
work would rise, but again nothing happened. But after a second
edition of his main work was published he slowly started to
attract attention in Europe. In 1851 his "Parerga and Paralipomena"
finally brought him the fame that he had longed for. He died
in Frankfurt in 1860. In 1873 the first complete edition of
his work was published in six volumes.